Nov. 30 – Antarctic Center

Our last stop on the tour was the International Antarctic Centre. Christchurch is a major gateway to Antarctica. Many Antarctic expeditions originated from here including Scott's doomed 1911 attempt to be the first to reach the south pole. There is a mock-up of Scott Base which includes this door. Yes, it looks like a big, walk-in refrigerator. The base is built like a fridge to keep the cold OUT instead of in.


There is also a mock-up of Scott's base camp where there is an audio-visual presentation of readings from Scott's diary.


There are also samples of equipment currently used by personnel in the Antarctic including this Swedish Grizzly Aktiv snowmobile and the two-person tent behind it.